The pilot research core will be directed by Stanley Tuhrim, M.D., professor of neurology at Mount Sinai School of Medicine. His studies of disparities in risk for initial and recurrent stroke among Blacks and Hispanics in East and Central Harlem have been supported by NIH grants for more than a decade. The pilot research core is a particularly important activity for our Center, because of the high priority we place on attracting new researchers, especially minority faculty, to the field of minority health services and disparities research. We propose to focus the efforts of the pilot core on attracting young investigators to the field by being able to support their initial efforts to test the feasibility of important new research ideas that are closely linked to the theme of our Center. The pilot core will also work with the minority faculty from North General identified by the Training Core for the intensive research training program and their Center investigator mentors to encourage submission of pilot research proposals. The Center Executive Committee will establish a Pilot Research Evaluation Committee, chaired by Tuhrim, that will consist of 2 Center investigators (on a rotating basis), the Training Core directors or co-director (also rotating), and the Community Outreach Core Director. The Committee will include 1-2 faculty as reviewers from outside Mount Sinai and may request Mount Sinai faculty outside the Center to serve on an ad hoc basis. Proposals for pilot studies will be accepted from Mount Sinai faculty only at the rank of assistant professor. Faculty from North General enrolled in the research-training program at any rank may submit pilot proposals. The Committee will review and score the proposals, which will be submitted in 2 cycles each year, using the NIH merit scoring system. The Committee will recommend the most meritorious proposals to the Center's Executive Committee for approval. The Executive Committee, subject to availability of funds, will make final funding decisions, also taking into account the likelihood that funded proposals, if successfully completed, could serve as foundations for full research proposals. The Core will monitor the pilot projects to facilitate their success, will track completed projects to assess which investigators went on to develop and submit full research proposals to federal or other agencies.